Tainted Wings

Chapter Nine

Marcia's car was sitting in the driveway when Hekate pulled up beside her in the rain. It hadn't let up the entire time she had been with Caleb, let alone the drive home. She collected her bags before running into the house. Inside, she found Marcia at the kitchen counter and her mother standing on the other side. Both of them were eating something from bowls. Hekate could smell chili.

"Hey. Sorry, I'm late," Hekate apologized to both of them.

Her mother looked up from her bowl first. "You are late. Don't forget it's a school night. You've both usually been good in the past, but I don't want you guys staying up too late."

Marcia leaned back to glance at Hekate before scooping another bite up into her mouth. She tried to speak through the food. "We're just going to catch up on some homework and watch some YouTube videos. Nothing too exciting."

Hekate threw her bag onto the living room couch before returning to take a seat next to Marcia. There was already a bowl of hot chili waiting for her. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she took the first bite, burning her tongue for a second time that night.

"Thanks, Mom. This is delicious," Hekate said through a mouthful.

Marcia suddenly leaned into her, tilting her head onto Hekate's shoulder. "So. Are you going to tell me how your date was, or not? Since one of us got to even go on a date?"

Her mother nearly choked on the sip of water she had just taken. "Excuse me? A date? My daughter went on a date? This must be some kind of mistake!"

I'll admit, even I was surprised.

"Shut up," Hekate grumbled before biting into her food again. The last thing she wanted was the third degree on how the coffee date had gone. Especially after Jennifer had tried to start something with her at their gymnastics practice.

Marcia wasn't going to let it drop. "Si! Your daughter went on a date! She's growing up, I'm so proud. Tell me! How did it go?"

"We just had coffee. That's it. We talked for a bit, hung out, then I came home. End of story," Hekate said, attempting to let the subject drop again.

Leaping from her chair, Marcia walked over to the kitchen sink to drop her empty bowl. "You're not getting off that easy."

Thankfully, her mother took pity on her cornered daughter. "Come on, Marcia. Give her a break. She'll tell us when she's ready," leaning closer to Marcia, she whispered, "She better."

Annoyed by the topic, Hekate devoured the rest of her dinner as fast as she could so she could escape. "We have work to do. Come on."

"Don't stay up too late," her mother reminded them.

"Yes, ma'am!" Hekate exclaimed.

Marcia was right behind her when she ran upstairs to her bedroom. Although Hekate's goal was to focus on the mission for the night, Marcia wasn't going to let it go. "Seriously, what happened?"

"Seriously, do you want your powers or not?" Hekate retorted.

The topic of powers shut Marcia up right away. Instead of pressing the issue further, she fell onto her bed in defeat. "What exactly is going to happen?"

Throwing her leotard into her hamper, Hekate slipped into a large t-shirt and sweatpants as Moro materialized beside Marcia. "I'm not even sure."

Marcia absentmindedly began to scratch Moro behind the ear. "Any idea, wolf?"

Moro glanced down at her. "I'm not allowed to mention it until we are there. It has to come from Diana."

She groaned, sitting up. "Can I borrow some clothes? I didn't bring a bag."